The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on Monday. The Hawks were losing 2 goals to 1, with a raucous Boston cheering and just 1 minute and 17 seconds left in the game. Did someone say over? But the fat lady wasn’t singing yet in Beantown. Bang bang two goals in 17 seconds. Hawks win the Stanley Cup. Lesson: Never say never.

Did the Wedwand camel cover come first or that crazy funny Geico ad with the camel that we just recently saw aired during the hockey games? Hump daaay, yeah.

The “Super Moon” happened this past weekend. Some reports called it the largest moon of 2013. Wedwand refuses to comment on the specifics of the largest moon seen in 2013, but rumor has it, a Walmart near a Flippin Arkansas also had a sighting

Sadly, James Gandolfini tragically died last week. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ordered flags to be flown at half mast for the “timeless impact he left … in the State of New Jersey.” Presumably this was for his portrayal of mob hits. It’s not that I don’t mourn his loss, but I wonder how many military service people from Jersey have been so honored for their timeless impact on the freedom of our country.

One of the Wallenda’s wondered what it would be like to walk a tight rope across the Grand Canyon, so he did. (Or so it was billed.) Not to diminish his accomplishment at all, but what he crossed in 22 minutes was actually the Little Colorado River Gorge on the Navajo Nation, near the Grand Canyon. And the Discover channel did not discover this? “Things that make you go, Hmm.”

What will come in the weeks that follows? Who knows, but it’s summertime and as Mungo Jerry said, “sing along with us dee dee dee dee dee, da da da da da, yeah we’re hap-pap-py.

Enjoy your summer.
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Epilogue to last week’s post, “Weather or Not”:

Suffice it to say, there are enough “rain songs” out there for every one to have one to love, literally hundreds I was told by one reader. Thank you George. (In fact, my top 10 missed two of my all-time favorites, “Kentucky Rain” by Elvis and “A Rainy Night In Georgia by Brook Benton.)

A little research show rain songs range from Elvis to Judy Garland, from the Beatles to the Smashing Pumpkins, from Led Zeppelin to the Muppets. Once I focused on it, seems like I heard one every day on the radio.

Looks like rain sometime that week, maybe on your day. Rain, that damned rain. It’s gonna ruin your parade. Wait, you’re not having a parade, it’s a party. Maybe it will be OK. Rain, farmers love it; party throwers, not so much.

The show, the parade, the summer gathering, the party goes on. Rain or shine.

But the local weathermen will change the forecast ten times before Sunday. (Sounds like the name of a band, eh? “Ladies and Gentlemen, Give it up for Ten Times Before Sunday!” )

And those are just SOME of the “rain” songs. Oddly as I researched this, I never knew there were soo many songs about rain. The concept started out just with “Stormy Weather.”

So back to the picnic, the parade, the party. As the Eagles said in their classic song “Desperado”, recorded 40 years ago, “It may be rainin’ but there’s a rainbow above you.”

And Wedwand says, ” Don’t let the forecast fool ya. Let the good times rule ya.” It’s not the weather that makes the party, it’s the celebration and the camaraderie of the event.

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1- This photo was taken right in front of my house in May. After a diligent search, I can confirm, there is NO pot of gold on my street. But the authorities that be may want to spend millions to make sure Jimmy Hoffa is not there. A guy named Vinnie told me maybe Hoffa is there. I gladly give them permission to dig up my yard to check and see… for a price.

2- “Stormy Weather” was first recorded 80 years ago by Frances Langford in 1933 according to Wikipedia. Look her up. (She is actually sort of hot in a 1930’s sort of way.) If she sang in this day and age she’d be called Frances and the Machine.

There was a movie by the same name, Stormy Weather that came out in 1943, 70 years ago. Oddly, it is the story of Bill ” Mr. Bojangles” Robinson and features songs by Lena Horne, Cab Calloway and Fats Waller.

The song has been recorded over 40 times since then by artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Chaka Khan to The Smoking Popes.

Bob stands solemn, microphone in hand, nods and tells the story of whatever tragic event happened and nods again at the end saying, “And I’m Bob. Over to you, Mary Lou.”

Mary Lou says, “Thank you, Bob.”

OK. whatever happened is tragic enough and it doesn’t make it less tragic because YOUR name is Bob or HER name is Mary Lou.

Bob could be telling the story, or Mary Lou or Billy Joe McAllister on his way off the Tallahatchie Bridge (1). (Although, I do want to know what really happened on that sleepy dusty Delta day, the third of June. “Hit the river swimming and didn’t stop until I reached shore and started a new life … that chick was stalking me .. and I’m Billy Joe.” Now that’s a story.)

Back to topic. I know. I know. They want us to feel connected, like a friend is in our living room is with us for the ten o’clock news (later on the coasts). But, I am sure this has happened to you.

Ding Dong ( doorbell rings).
“Honey, it’s Bob.”
“Hi Bob.”
“Jeff, do you know 2 people were shot today, another 3 were injured in a car wreck and the weather calls for tornadoes.”
“Welcome to my living room, Bob. Want something to drink? ”

Why not just tell the story? Or even better yet, why just NOT tell the bad stories and give us some good news stories instead? Even Huey Lewis and The News works for me.

Nothing in the definition requires news to be horrific, horrendous or heartbreaking.

“It is estimated that over 60 million Americans have some type of issue sleeping.” (2)

37 percent of Americans, times pi multiplied by the number of rungs in the Tallahatchie Bridge watch the Ten or Eleven o’clock news before they go to bed. (OK, I made that one up, but you get the point.)

Coincidence? I think not.

If you must watch TV before bed, try an episode of an old comedy show before you sleep, instead of the late night news show. Maybe you can sleep smiling then.

Over to you, Billy Joe.
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1- “Ode to Billy Joe”, written and performed by Bobbie Gentry, was a number one hit in the summer of 1967.